Livery Cab Crashes Into Street Fair, Injuring 13

An out-of-control livery cab careened into a street fair in Queens yesterday, injuring 13 people. According to WABC 7, "The car struck at least one food booth when it crashed into the street fair at Junction Boulevard and 37th Avenue about 1 p.m. Sunday."

Some witnesses gave details to WCBS 2, one said, "He made a right-hand turn, and the odd part of it is he went on the sidewalk, and went in the back of the vendor's booth," while another said, "I saw him go into the tents. I don't believe he knew he was at a festival at all - he ran down two guys." A third said, "When I got to the scene, there were two men on the floor. He drove over one of the men's leg, his shin was splintered, and hot oil spilled onto his leg." And witnesses said the driver claimed that he was hit by another car—though there was no damage to his car—and acted too calmly, "When he got out, he was standing against the car like he got pulled over for a traffic ticket."

Among the injured were two food vendors, who had burns from their tipped-over carts, and others simply enjoying the parade. The driver, Louis Nunez, was not charged. And in other news, two pedestrians were fatally struck by vehicles in hit-and-run's over the weekend—one incident in Queens and one in Manhattan.

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By Jen Chung in News on August 3, 2009 10:43 AM

Comments [rss]

yytttt

He wasn't charged cause he was a cop, obviously!

jaycjay

"it is illegal for them to talk on the phone while driving, even while using handsfree / bluetooth technology. Illegal."

It's a violation of TLC rules. It's not something they can be arrested for, or even a traffic violation.

blim8183

He probably got hit by some insane cyclist on a fixie and was sent flying into the fair as a result.

whitecastlerock

Is the driver here legally? Does the driver have a criminal record?

harrisgraber

Did the police check his cell phone records?

You'd be amazed at how many of these "professional" drivers use their cell phones while driving.

Ben

he could always claim he was using a bluetooth headset, even if he wasn't

tolu1973

If you read the rules of a livery cab driver in NYC, it is illegal for them to talk on the phone while driving, even while using handsfree / bluetooth technology. Illegal.

jibbly

Appalled, outraged, resigned to the fact...all yes.

Amazed? Nope.

Atomische

He still could be charged, after an investigation. But it could just as likely be classified as an accident.

The problem is, there are no such things as accidents when it comes to driving a car. You can accidentally drop your toast on the floor, but you can't accidentally plow your car into a street fair. If that happens, regardless of the extenuating circumstances, you are not fit to drive.

tolu1973

Agreed. This is a "professional" driver. This is his one paid skill and he clearly cannot be trusted doing his job. If it was granny behind the wheel, I understand why there aren't charges, but this guy is a cab driver. He should lose his ability to drive for the public until he can prove that the invisible car behind him caused the accident.

FranklinBluth

He'd only be charged if he was negligent or if he acted deliberately. They don't charge people if something was a complete accident.

Trilby16

As they say in law, res ipsa loquitor-- the thing speaks for itself. If you drive into a street fair and injure people, you ARE negligent. Case closed.

whydididothis

I don't know what third-tier law school you went to, Trillby, but there are many reasons why someone could do this without being negligent. Say, for example, if their brakes failed, or if someone rear-ended them going at high speed, causing an unwieldly Town Car that drives like a freaking boat to spin out.

Moreover, maybe you should read up on res ipsa loquitur again, because this is not a situation where res ipsa would apply. Under common law, one of the three elements that must be proven for res ipsa to apply is that there's no reasonable explanation as to how the harm occured. There could be plenty here.

whitecastlerock

Slow day in Immigration court today?

Dead Himmler

I hate lawyers.

whydididothis

I'm not one nor would I ever want to be. I just hate people who spew legal jargon to justify their biases. I also hate cabbies but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt where they present a plausible argument in their defense.

FranklinBluth

If he had a heart attack or stroke, then it's not negligence. If he was answering a cell phone, then yeah, totally negligent.

pigeon

Driving into a street fair seems pretty negligent..

FunChop

If he's not going to be charged, then his shins should be splintered and have hot oil poured on them.

nicemarmot

Of course he wasn't charged, he was in a car! That means those pesky pedestrians must have all thrown themselves into the path of his car!